I Planned a Su*cide Mission and Got Kicked Out of the Party

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The advance of the central army was prioritized over the drop of the airborne troops. It was, in a sense, expected. The airborne operation was predicated on the enemy’s complacency, which necessitated that the south and east acted first to hold back the enemy’s massive army near the Demon King’s Castle.

After several months, Rose returned to the battlefield, feeling as if she hadn’t been here for years. In a way, this position was entirely new for her. In the military command structure, there was no rank higher than the Emperor, so Jeongjae had obediently handed over the command position to Rose.

Rose had always served as Walter’s subordinate. She never forgot the fact that, in military rank, she was below Walter. However, now her status had changed, and Jeongjae was not a leader confident in his genius like Walter.

Commander Rose Caprice of the Northern Expeditionary Force. At this moment, Rose felt she could somewhat relate to the pressure Walter had endured and the burdens Margaret continually felt.

“I used to just follow Walter’s orders to smash the enemy wherever he told me to go. If he said to hold a position or defend somewhere, I would execute that order without question. But now I have to give those orders myself.”

Rose complained to Jeongjae. The Grand Mage bowed his head to the Emperor and replied.

“There are plenty of soldiers willing to lay down their lives if you order them to.”

“If necessary, I’ll have to issue such orders.”

Rose replied dryly.

“Because every order to advance, including those I give myself, fundamentally demands a readiness for death. The difference now is that I, too, can finally die like they do.”

Seated atop her black horse and clad in shining armor, Rose stood out among the infantry of the central army. Jeongjae, recalling that Rose’s protective magic had weakened, wore a worried expression.

“Isn’t it better to fight on foot? There’s only you as a knight among the heavy infantry; it’s unusual. You’ll likely be targeted.”

“Weren’t you the one who said I was needed as a symbol? With the Emperor here, a symbol that says you will never lose.”

“True, but just you being here to command…”

“If so, there’s no better method than this.”

Rose dismissed Jeongjae’s suggestion. Jeongjae lowered his head and stepped back. The Emperor turned to the soldiers and spoke succinctly.

“I’ve already said what needed to be said before coming here. You may not have heard it, but nobody likes lengthy speeches, so I’ll keep it short.”

The Emperor drew his sword and raised it towards the sky.

“I swear! When we march, I will be at the front, and if we must retreat, I will stand at the rear! Let’s march!”

The soldiers began to advance towards the northwest with cheers. At the same time, the cavalry led by Margaret and Alex moved up to the northeast.

Noticing that the battle had begun, Jean Helmut also began to respond as prepared. He thought it impossible to counter the overwhelming power of the cavalry and let Margaret and Alex proceed along their desired path.

But he couldn’t allow Rose and Jeongjae to approach the vicinity of the Demon King’s Castle, so he positioned an enormous number of cannons in the mountain fortresses and began unleashing heavy bombardments upon the Imperial forces. Seeing the deployment of the fortresses, Jeongjae sighed again.

“I knew they’d be ready. If we could just confront them head-on, we might break through. It’s not a route we can circumvent. This must be the case around the Demon King’s Castle.”

“We’ll break through by force. Is there a better strategy than this?”

Rose commanded. Jeongjae, unable to think of a better plan, nodded.

“I’ll take out the front two first. Until my magic runs out, I’ll support from a distance…”

Jeongjae pointed at the fortresses with his finger, his mouth watering in anticipation. A cannon fired from the fortifications and landed precisely between Jeongjae and Rose, but the two commanders of the Imperial army showed no reaction, their eyes fixed forward.

“The rest, push in and destroy them.”

“Well, I’ll just do what I always do.”

Jeongjae squeezed his eyes shut and began to weave a spell that would gather as much power as he could.

“The star of the heavens burns with fearsome energy from the farthest cosmos. Though I cannot replicate that principle, I wish to mimic its light.”

Two gigantic circular magic circles appeared simultaneously. Soldiers witnessing Jeongjae’s grand magic for the first time gasped in astonishment just by watching from behind.

“Flash of the stars!”

Two streams of blue light surged forth, obliterating the two fortresses at the very front and sending the artillery flying. Confirming the cannon fire had ceased, Rose immediately urged her horse onward, charging across rough terrain as if it were flat ground. Jeongjae also deemed the bombardment danger null and began pushing the army forward. Rose accelerated up the hill on her horse as if she were not bound by the laws of physics like an ordinary person.

Although the fortifications were destroyed, not all of the enemy soldiers inside had perished. As they emerged from the wreckage, the sharpshooters targeted Rose and fired in unison.

“So, that’s what a gun is?”

Rose scoffed as bullets ricocheted off her armor. Seeing the Emperor charge through the debris of the fort and recognizing they could not withstand the onslaught, the Demon King’s Army began to retreat mechanically.

As Rose drew her sword and hacked down fleeing sharpshooters, she tilted her head in confusion.

“Watching them retreat, they’re actually quite a well-trained army.”

“From what I hear, they’ve been trained to an abusive level. It’s not good for the long term, but they’ve always seen these recruits as mere tools for short-term use.”

Meanwhile, as Jeongjae successfully occupied the opposite fortress and continued to move the army up the hill, he approached Rose to explain. Rose clicked her tongue and nodded her head.

“Soldiers become people once they remove their armor. Well, what can we expect from a Demon King?”

The Emperor’s words implicitly suggested that soldiers in uniform were not free men. Jeongjae couldn’t say that her perspective was entirely wrong.

“Anyway, the way is clear. Unless there are significant traps, we should be able to continue moving like this.”

“There’s a possibility of traps. But I’ve already declared it. In this advance, I will be at the forefront. Follow me. If there are any ambushes, we’ll handle them ourselves.”

“Be careful. You’re not the indomitable fortress you used to be.”

“I know my condition better than anyone. Cast protective magic on me, especially on my horse.”

Rose accepted the volleys of gunfire effortlessly, but she did not underestimate the danger. Unlike when arrows from the archers, beings that were close to gods of war, had somewhat predictable trajectories, the gunfire was engulfed in thick smoke, and the movement of the small bullets was invisible.

Rose’s armor was too sturdy to be penetrated by bullets, but unlike the Royal Knight Order, Rose’s black horse, without any magical armor, would surely be gravely injured or killed if struck by those bullets. Having narrowly avoided the first shot, Rose realized that if the enemy targeted her mount, she too could end up in danger.

Following the Emperor’s orders, Jeongjae quickly cast a powerful protective spell on Rose. Once Rose confirmed that the spell had taken effect, she urged her horse forward, charging toward the fortifications aiming at the artillery dozens of meters ahead. Jeongjae formed a massive magic circle over the positions of the Demon King’s Army, which lay opposite where Rose had gone.

“As the firebrand first wielded by humans fell from the sky, so too does the hellfire descend in the form of lightning.”

This was not the first time Jeongjae had rained fire down upon humans. Yet, he had no hesitation now, as there was no time for mercy when he fought to avoid causing pain or death amidst the warfare.

“Thunder, strike down.”

A massive bolt of lightning poured down over the fort, engulfing an entire human unit allied with the Demon King’s Army in flames. Jeongjae unleashed the maximum mercy he could muster, wrapping the area in fire to ensure that the enemy within the fortress suffered as little as possible, incinerating an entire unit into ashes in an instant.

Some soldiers cringed at the terrifying spectacle, while the majority were too preoccupied with the projectiles raining down from above and watching their comrades fall to care.

Rose charged into the enemy lines single-handedly and demolished another artillery position. The advance went smoothly. The Emperor shouted with a face full of excitement.

“At this rate, it won’t take long to reach the Demon King’s Castle! We should prepare for the siege in advance!”

“Be cautious. If we get too excited that things are going too well, troubles will always start cropping up.”

“That’s true, but if we always expect trouble, we’ll never win at all. Sometimes, you have to think things can go smoothly.”

“Well, at least for now, it seems we aren’t facing any issues…”

Just then, a loud pop heralded a small note that suddenly appeared in Jeongjae’s hand. Rose glanced down at Jeongjae inquiringly.

“What is it? Did you cast a spell?”

“It’s not my spell. This is from Eramenia… it’s a short-range communication spell.”

Jeongjae had previously used it to receive messages, and he had seen it employed for battlefield communication before. However, recently, due to various damages, Eramenia had been low on magic, so this spell which required a substantial amount of power wasn’t used unless under dire circumstances.

Margaret was likely commanding efforts on the battlefield, meaning that this was a direct message from the homeland of Eramenia to inform Jeongjae about something. Jeongjae did not have a good feeling about it. With a colossal plan underway, and this being merely the early part, the fact that there was something urgent to deliver from the Elf Kingdom didn’t bode well.

Shaking, Jeongjae slowly opened the note, revealing its contents. Rose watched anxiously as Jeongjae read it.

“What does it say, Grand Mage?”

“Ah.”

Jeongjae handed the note to Rose with a pale face. Rose accepted the paper from Jeongjae and checked its contents.

‘Variable detected. Cease all operations immediately.’

“But we’ve already begun!”

The Emperor pressed his lips tightly together. It was clear that the situation had spiraled into something unexpectedly complicated. Jeongjae, still white-faced and trembling, muttered.

“Rose, can I leave the follow-up to you?”

“Go take a look?”

“We need to grasp the situation. To do that, I must go personally. Since you’re the overall commander of this army, I’d appreciate it if you could lead the retreat and manage the aftermath.”

The Emperor nodded with a worried expression.

“I understand. Go. Don’t fret about the situation here.”